Entrance Tests Scores and Students' Success in Higher Education

High school GPA and college entrance test scores are two admission criteria that are currently used by most colleges to select their prospective students. Given their widespread use, it is important to investigate their predictive validity to ensure the accuracy of the admission decisions in these institutions. This book was written to highlight the predictive validity of both high school GPA and college entrance test scores used as predictors in the admission process to colleges. The author found that high school GPA and college entrance test scores were both significant predictors of academic performance as measured by first-year college GPA and four-year cumulative GPA. However, the addition of college entrance test scores significantly improved the prediction of college performance. He concluded that using common regression equations to predict academic performance may result in unfair admission decisions. In summary, high school GPA explains a very small portion of the total variance of first-year college GPA and four-year cumulative GPA. Therefore, a comprehensive review of the use of high school GPA for admission decisions is strongly recommended.